


Supernatural Commentary 2019

by welkinalauda (iiii)



Series: Salvaged from Tumblr [23]
Category: Supernatural
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-02-26 09:29:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22433338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iiii/pseuds/welkinalauda
Series: Salvaged from Tumblr [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1212825





	1. January

[1/17/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/182105426490/stuff-i-liked-that-bar-first-shot-is-rockys)

Stuff I liked:

  * THAT BAR
  * first shot is “Rocky’s Bar” and next shot is Bullwinkle, stuffed and mounted on the wall
  * _all_ the little details of the bar
  * references to both our Boris and our Natasha
  * PAM!
  * Dean being all competent in the face of monsters invading his bar
  * Holy oil molotov
  * Michael’s nihilism, and his explanation 
    * because yes, that’s exactly what Chuck is doing/is like. He cares about the narrative as he writes it and stops caring the minute he turns away
    * though I’m not sure this Michael could identify caring if it took him to the river and taught him how to fish
    * Oh, huh. Chuck cares about worldbuilding and narrative. He doesn’t care about the characters. The characters desperately want to believe he cares about them, but to him they’re paper cutouts made to serve his story. Totally fungible/alterable/disposable, never really real. This explains a lot.
  * Violet the snarky reaper
  * Poughkeepsie
  * Dean’s been the key, the lock, now the cage

Stuff I didn’t like so much:

  * Michael’s plan still doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but at least he’s got existential despair as an excuse
  * the refugees turned hunters make no sense at all
    * none
    * why are they still here? why aren’t they putting all their efforts into going home? why is a little mouse of girl who joined their company a day before the exodus giving all the orders? why is a hardened band of freedom fighters _obeying_ that little mouse of a girl without question?
    * I mean, see above on Chuck’s relationship to his characters, but characters badly enough written hurt the story, so maybe a little more effort would be in order here.

What I hope to see next week:

  * Dean remembers that he has construction experience and knows how to run a concrete mixer
  * A Brief Construction Montage of Dean encasing his walk-in in concrete and a whole lot of rebar
  * The lady who was trying to buy the bar reappears in a completely different context

and now I have some WiP I need to finish before the characters turn sour and escape to destroy the next story over.

[#spn 14x10 Nihilism](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-14x10-Nihilism) [#so many callbacks](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/so-many-callbacks) [#so little time](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/so-little-time) [#oh hey](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/oh-hey) [#did anyone get Garth out of the trunk?](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/did-anyone-get-Garth-out-of-the-trunk%3F)

* * *

[1/18/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/182128483267/just-had-wine-pizza-w-my-sister-her-husband)

just had wine & pizza w/ my sister & her husband. We agreed that was a good episode. Thumbs up all round. My sister brought up a good point, that I hadn’t thought of at all, which was:

As soon as they slapped cuffs on Michael, they should have started milking his grace and feeding it to Jack. Weaken Michael and his hold on Dean; strengthen Jack & let him conserve what’s left of his soul: all win for TFW. They know how. Should have been their first move.

later we were talking holy oil molotov, and she was like, Oh yeah! Why didn’t they make a holy oil ring around the archangel and light it up? They were a little dubious about the holy handcuffs, but they **knew** the oil ring would work. They should have done that.

imo, they should have done the flaming oil ring just to make the group fight scene extra dramatic.

[#spn 14x10 Nihilism](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-14x10-Nihilism) [#all hail my sister](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/all-hail-my-sister)

* * *

[1/20/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/182173246999/hunenka-one-of-the-things-i-loved-the-most-about)

[#spn 14x10 Nihilism](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-14x10-Nihilism) [#^this](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/%5Ethis) [#all he wants is the weight of the world off his shoulders](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/all-he-wants-is-the-weight-of-the-world-off-his-shoulders) [#his friends to not be dead](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/his-friends-to-not-be-dead) [#the monsters of the past to be beatable](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/the-monsters-of-the-past-to-be-beatable) [#to have something someone one else would pay money for](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/to-have-something-someone-one-else-would-pay-money-for) [#He could have it too](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/He-could-have-it-too) [#except for the resurrected friends part](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/except-for-the-resurrected-friends-part) [#this is all stuff he could make happen](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/this-is-all-stuff-he-could-make-happen) [#if it weren't for all those meddling celestial beings](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/if-it-weren%27t-for-all-those-meddling-celestial-beings)

* * *

[1/21/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/182205292844/is-it-just-me-or-does-this-squirrel-have-three)

Is it just me, or does this squirrel have three paws, one of which is clutching what appears to be a squirrel-sized curling iron?

[#spn 14x10 Nihilism](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-14x10-Nihilism) [#that can't be it](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/that-can%27t-be-it) [#but that's what I'm seeing](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/but-that%27s-what-I%27m-seeing)

* * *

[1/21/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/182212035491/family-business) **Family Business**

The image is a couple of dead men with their dead pets in a red barroom, with the Corazon card from [La Loteria](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FLoter%25C3%25ADa&t=MWQ2ZmQ4NWE5MmY2ZmE4OTNiMGYyMzY0ZDQyZWEwNzExMDgzYzk4YSxHVk5STE8wcA%3D%3D&b=t%3A0uBFBznWrCGtBXYYAWqPPA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwelkinalauda.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F182212035491%2Ffamily-business&m=1) framed on the wall.

The plaque at the top of the frame says FAMILY BUSINESS

I don’t think that’s mere product placement for Jensen Ackles’ beer label. I think this is a depiction of the current state of the family business: Dean barricaded behind the bar, Sam losing it out on the floor, Cas the cat at Dean’s elbow, Jack the dog underfoot. That is not a heart they’ve got there on the wall, but a painting of a heart, to stand in for the ones these skeletons haven’t got. All on a background of blood-red. 

Dean, Sam and Castiel all got redneck from vampire splatter in that bar. Jack had a red coat on all episode.

this is the last view out of the walk-in, after Sam shoved Michael in: Family Business over his shoulder.

I think that’s a boar’s head looming over the painting. Please discuss, because I don’t rightly know what it’s doing up there.

\---

Possibly related: the toreador behind the bar is a callback to 4x18, in which the Toreador Motel lost some letters to become the Red Motel. That’s where Sam had his first heart-to-heart with the writer/cruel capricious god Chuck, and where later Chuck and Dean cock-blocked Sam’s fiery demonic passion.

[#spn 14x10 Nihilism](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-14x10-Nihilism) [#spn 4x18 The Monster at the End of This Book](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-4x18%C2%A0The-Monster-at-the-End-of-This-Book) [#red hearts and the writer Chuck](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/red-hearts-and-the-writer-Chuck) [#yes I am bad with screenshots](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/yes-I-am-bad-with-screenshots) [#I feel accomplished to have gotten these at all](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/I-feel-accomplished-to-have-gotten-these-at-all)

* * *

[1/22/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/182213389799/consent-andconsent)

Even nastier: this is just about the only time we’ve seen Dean _get to_ say ‘no’. Usually when someone in a suit offers him a deal, there’s all this manipulation and coercion and horrible repercussions if he doesn’t go along. This time, he says ‘no’, she glowers… and stomps off into the rain because she has no leverage. 

The one time he gets to give ‘no’ for an answer, it’s because his ‘no’ serves to entrench him further in a trap.

[#spn 14x10 Nihilism](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-14x10-Nihilism)

* * *

[1/24/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/182275216431/family-business)

This is thematically on point, but so wrong stylistically it took me a couple days to think of it. This is not a song Dean Winchester would find meaningful. 

You are going   
To the empty bullring,   
Taking your red cloak   
To regain something

The song is of an injured and superannuated matador, who sneaks out nights to pretend-fight bulls that aren’t there and listen to the cheers of a crowd that isn’t there.

_The Sun Also Rises_ might be a fruitful source, though, between the fishing trip and the bullfighting and the existential despair.

[#spn 14x10 Nihilism](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-14x10-Nihilism) [#music q](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/music-q) [#The Empty Bullring](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/The-Empty-Bullring) [#Kate Bush](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/Kate-Bush)

* * *

[1/24/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/182275957745/true-servant-of-heaven) **True servant of Heaven**

> PAMELA: I’m good. Really. Remember my death scene? Gut shot. Coughing blood. You told me I was going someplace better.
> 
> DEAN: I was lying.
> 
> PAMELA: You were right! My heaven? It is one long show at the Meadowlands. It’s amazing! You should see it.
> 
> DEAN: (nodding his head) Yeah.
> 
> PAMELA: You don’t believe me.
> 
> DEAN: No, I do, it’s just, you know. Spending eternity trapped in your own little universe while the angels run the show, that’s lonely. You know. That’s not Nirvana. That’s the Matrix.
> 
> PAMELA: I don’t know. Attic’s still better than the basement.
> 
> DEAN: Yeah, but (he holds his hand out) you know this place feels real, but it’s Memorex. Real is down there.
> 
> PAMELA: Yeah, well, close enough. Look, Dean, I’m happy. I’m at peace.
> 
> DEAN: What? Are you trying to sell me a time share? I mean, what’s with the pitch?
> 
> PAMELA: (chuckling) I know that Michael wants to take you out for a test drive.
> 
> DEAN: (interrupting) Pamela…
> 
> PAMELA: Just saying. What happens if you play ball with them? Worst case.
> 
> DEAN: A lot of people die.
> 
> PAMELA: And then they come here. Is that really so bad? Look. Maybe… you don’t have to fight it so hard. That’s all I’m trying to say.

[http://www.supernaturalwiki.com/5.16_Dark_Side_of_the_Moon_(Transcript)](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.supernaturalwiki.com%2F5.16_Dark_Side_of_the_Moon_%28Transcript%29&t=ZTZjZTFjMTRhNWM5YTgxNzMwZWU0YzMyZTM1MDBjYmZjOGM4N2RkMCxLbHFTeHR1cQ%3D%3D&b=t%3A0uBFBznWrCGtBXYYAWqPPA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwelkinalauda.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F182275957745%2Ftrue-servant-of-heaven&m=1)

Another reason to have Pam be Dean’s barmaid in Michael’s construct: she’s just about the only knowledgeable human to be Heaven apologist, like, ever. Most characters, they find out the whole Matrix deal and they **do not want**. They go along with it, because they don’t have a choice, but they grumble. They’re into the whole existential yen for freedom thing. Pam, though, is happy with being happy - so much so that she’s urging Dean to help half the human population come enjoy it along with her. And very specifically, she’s telling Dean to accede to Michael’s wishes, because it’ll lead to her idea of the greatest good for the greatest number.

[#spn 14x10 Nihilism](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-14x10-Nihilism) [#spn 5x16 Dark Side of the Moon](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-5x16-Dark-Side-of-the-Moon)

* * *

[1/25/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/182303171646/honestly-my-fav-part-of-that-episode-was-the)

and a shout-out to production for a) casting a good guy with an actor who’s not a white guy, and b) letting him survive the episode. 

[#spn 14x11 Damaged Goods](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-14x11-Damaged-Goods) [#Good work team!](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/Good-work-team%21)

* * *

[1/29/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/182400953343/postmodernmulticoloredcloak-welkinalauda)

[welkinalauda ](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/182391514147)

Am I the only one who’s too busy staring at the picture on the wall to deal with the rest of the scene?

[postmodernmulticoloredcloak ](https://postmodernmulticoloredcloak.tumblr.com/post/182396447452)

You mean the picture shaped like a p—-the First Blade! right? that’s definitely the first thing that comes into your mind, the First Blade, yes

[welkinalauda ](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/182400953343/postmodernmulticoloredcloak-welkinalauda)

er, yep, first blade is the first thing, that’s definitely it. and now I’m looking at the rest, ‘the fat one balances the two skinny ones’

_symbolism_

[#interesting composition](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/interesting-composition) [#the blade is his penis](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/the-blade-is-his-penis) [#and a symbolic representation of salvation](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/and-a-symbolic-representation-of-salvation) [#or something like that](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/or-something-like-that)


	2. February

[2/1/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/182470044902/they-did-it-again) **They did it again**

To the list of female characters who only exist to orbit some dude (Karen Singer, Linda Tran, Amelia Novak) and whose actresses are therefore disposable/replaceable, they have added Nick’s wife Sarah.

Here’s a thought: if you can’t get the actress back, maybe don’t put the character in the episode? You know, like they do with male actors.

[#spn 14x12 Prophet and Loss](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-14x12-Prophet-and-Loss) [#naaaah](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/naaaah) [#men are unique individuals](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/men-are-unique-individuals) [#each one a precious snowflake](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/each-one-a-precious-snowflake) [#irreplaceable](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/irreplaceable) [#not like all those fungible disposable females.](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/not-like-all-those-fungible-disposable-females.) [#didn't even bother giving her a wig with the same haircut](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/didn%27t-even-bother-giving-her-a-wig-with-the-same-haircut) [#buckleming infestation](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/buckleming-infestation)

* * *

[2/2/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/182516152631/hunenka-spn-14x12-prophet-and-loss-i-wonder-if)

I was thinking along the same lines - if Sam knew why Dean had set such a short timetable, Sam might be less dismissive of Dean’s plans.

Or, more likely, Sam would lecture Dean about how "strong" Dean is, how he’s just got to turn that frown up-side-down, prove he loves Sam by having more faith, and close with an off-key chorus of “Wind Beneath My Wings.” And then Sam would conspire with Castiel to chain Dean in the bunker dungeon while they finished reading their way through the library.

[#spn 14x12 Prophet and Loss](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-14x12-Prophet-and-Loss)

* * *

[2/5/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/182574939327/so-ive-zoomed-in-on-nicks-hospital-bracelet)

baby name voyager says [’Nick’](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.babynamewizard.com%2Fvoyager%23prefix%3Dnick%26sw%3Dm%26exact%3Dtrue&t=YjkwNTY0OTE3MWEzMjU1MDI5YTg3NzJiYjhjYjQ4NmViZDU4ODAwOCxDUTBRbkdRRw%3D%3D&b=t%3A0uBFBznWrCGtBXYYAWqPPA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwelkinalauda.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F182574939327%2Fso-ive-zoomed-in-on-nicks-hospital-bracelet&m=1) was ranked 275 in US male baby names in the 1960s. (Pellegrino was born in 1965.) Just plain Nick isn’t all that unlikely. [Nicholas](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.babynamewizard.com%2Fvoyager%23prefix%3Dnicholas%26sw%3Dm%26exact%3Dfalse&t=YTZkMTkzNGQ0NzA5Mzg4ZWM4MTBiZDI0YjhhM2RmZjJjZWEwODNiOCxDUTBRbkdRRw%3D%3D&b=t%3A0uBFBznWrCGtBXYYAWqPPA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwelkinalauda.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F182574939327%2Fso-ive-zoomed-in-on-nicks-hospital-bracelet&m=1) was ranked 143 for the decade, though - much more common & can’t be ruled out as his ‘real’ name. But Nicholas means something like ‘victory of the people.’ So I’m hoping the writers meant his name to be just plain Nick, which is a chip, a scratch: a minor blemish. Way less auspicious than Nicholas.

Plus I like the idea of Nick Vaught and his brothers Mark, Chip, and Sully: the blemish boys.

[#the name game](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/the-name-game)

* * *

[2/9/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/182678104109/missing-scene) **Missing scene**

While they’re waiting for Mary to show up, Dean takes John out to the garage. John geeks out at all the other cars. John expresses actual emotions about his own father. Dean pops Baby’s trunk to show John what all’s in there these days. [”Garth?”] Dean brings up Adam. Sam brings out a six pack, says he’s fed Garth and left him in the kitchen to wait for his ride. The Winchester men lean on Baby, sipping their beers, shop-talking about angel blades and demon-killing knives and suchlike. They trade demon-killing tips and tricks. Garth’s ride shows up. They go inside to see him off, then settle in at the kitchen table to talk some more. That’s when Mary arrives.

[#spn 14x13 Lebanon](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-14x13-Lebanon) [#had they already let Garth out of the trunk?](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/had-they-already-let-Garth-out-of-the-trunk%3F) [#if they did I missed it](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/if-they-did-I-missed-it) [#it's a Schrodinger's wolf situation](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/it%27s-a-Schrodinger%27s-wolf-situation) [#there may be a werewolf in the trunk](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/there-may-be-a-werewolf-in-the-trunk) [#can't know until you open it](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/can%27t-know-until-you-open-it) [#or maybe he's Chekhov's werewolf](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/or-maybe-he%27s-Chekhov%27s-werewolf)

* * *

[2/10/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/182718262966/frozen-delight-hunenka-14x11-dean-talks)

And when John _did_ talk to Dean, John’s all, “I guess that I had hoped, eventually, you would… get yourself a normal life, a peaceful life, a family.” Like what John put him through wasn’t permanently life-warping. Dean’s whole horrifying childhood was nbd to John, should be so much water off a duck’s back. And John claims to be proud, but out of like four sentences he manages to address to Dean alone, one of them is about how Dean’s living the wrong life. I guess Dean’s been through enough of the exact same bullshit from his mother that it doesn’t really land when his father throws it at him? Pissed me off, though.

[#spn 14x13 Lebanon](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-14x13-Lebanon) [#John Winchester is a bad parent](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/John-Winchester-is-a-bad-parent)

* * *

[2/14/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/182808258387/coulrophobia)

Last week someone (lizbob?) connected [Dean saying](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.supernaturalwiki.com%2F14.12_Prophet_and_Loss_%28transcript%29&t=OGY0YjQ3ZDBkNjQzNDc4NGM4YWRmNGY1YTI0MjZmZTBlYjllNmVjZixrY0lYZGVFQg%3D%3D&b=t%3A0uBFBznWrCGtBXYYAWqPPA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwelkinalauda.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F182808258387%2Fcoulrophobia&m=1), “when I was away, you know it wasn’t ‘cause I just ran out, right? Dad would… he would send me away when I really pissed him off. **I think you knew that**.”

in _Prophet and Loss_ with this bit from _Plucky Pennywhistle_

[DEAN](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.supernaturalwiki.com%2F7.14_Plucky_Pennywhistle%2527s_Magical_Menagerie_%28Transcript%29&t=ZTJjYjI5YmRlODU4OGU0OTg0MTMyNTNhOThjOWI2MTI1NzUyOTAwMyxrY0lYZGVFQg%3D%3D&b=t%3A0uBFBznWrCGtBXYYAWqPPA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwelkinalauda.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F182808258387%2Fcoulrophobia&m=1): Really? Could have swore you loved those places.  
SAM: No, dude, I hated them.  
SAM: Uh, you would dump me and go trolling for chicks.  
DEAN: It’s not like I left you in jail. I mean, those places are supposed to be fun.  
SAM: Fun? Uh, they’re lame. And they smell like puke. And the ice cream is all grainy.

As in, Dean did not _want_ to leave Sam alone with the scary clowns. The Dad-clown insisted. But hey, kids love clowns, right? Just like kids love their parents. So it should have been ok. It wasn’t. Being left with John was lame and smelled like puke.

Dean was trying to tell Sam that Dean was a child too, and Dean did _not_ make those decisions. Sam shut Dean right down, and claimed to be long over it. Sam’s version of the story was that Dean had agency there, and chose to chase girls instead of mother Sam. Sam and Dean have fundamentally different narratives of their childhood. That’s partly because Sam didn’t get told stuff, or was too young to understand what he did get told. But it’s also because when Dean tries to tell his truth about their childhood, Sam either makes a point of not applying his adult mind to the story (as with the CBGB story), or, as in 14x12, Sam flat out tells Dean he doesn’t want to hear it. 

Dean’s been trying to re-frame the family story for a while now. Sam has been resisting.

\---

As of the first half of _Lebanon_, Sam’s still scared of clowns - but he’s worked through it to the point where he doesn’t freeze. Sam burns the box and makes the serial killer ghost clown go away. 

Right after Sam deals successfully with the serial killer ghost clown, the magic pearl conjures up the basis of Sam’s clown phobia. (And the origin of his interest in serial killers.) Sam takes the opportunity to parley with his father’s ghost man-to-man. All is forgiven. 

Sam smashes the pearl, and makes the ghost of now less-scary dad go away.

Are we sure the pearl was reacting to Dean’s heart, and not Sam’s? Sam had that thing in his hands for longer than Dean did.

[#spn 1x04 Phantom Traveler](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-1x04-Phantom-Traveler) [#spn 2x02 Everybody Loves a Clown](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-2x02-Everybody-Loves-a-Clown) [#spn 7x14 Plucky Pennywhistle's Magical Menagerie](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-7x14-Plucky-Pennywhistle%27s-Magical-Menagerie) [#spn 10x09 The Things We Left Behind](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-10x09-The-Things-We-Left-Behind) [#spn 11x07 Plush](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-11x07-Plush) [#spn 14x12 Prophet and Loss](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-14x12-Prophet-and-Loss) [#spn 14x13 Lebanon](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-14x13-Lebanon) [#the big red nose of lousy parenting](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/the-big-red-nose-of-lousy-parenting) [#John Winchester is a bad parent](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/John-Winchester-is-a-bad-parent) [#Dean was raised the eldest daughter](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/Dean-was-raised-the-eldest-daughter)


	3. March

[3/5/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/183259461662/crossbowsandwalkers-221stepstobakerstreet)

Castiel spiking him into his grave explains how the trees all splatted like that

[#spn 4x01 Lazarus Rising](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-4x01-Lazarus-Rising)

* * *

[3/24/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/183667890804/missed-opportunity) ** missed opportunity**

Imagine that moment in _Peace of Mind_ when Castiel is at the Smith residence and Justin/Sam walks in, except, he’s styled like this:

None of that ponytailed five o’clock shadow nonsense. Actual haircut, clean shave.

Imagine Dean’s reaction - that first split-second of _oh my poor brother_ sorrow before he starts teasing.

Imagine all the meta fun with the meaning of hair-cutting: Tonsures. Samson. The modern custom of reacting to bad shit by hacking off your hair (cf. Mary cutting her hair on arriving in the future). Sam as the priest all shaven and shorn, in _The House that Jack Built_.

Imagine the opportunity for character development. Sam chose the long hair fifteen years ago at least partly to rebel against his father and brother. He’s kept it at least partly out of stubbornness/inertia. Sam’s recent rapprochement with John, plus Michael’s slaughter of the innocents, makes this an especially apt time to externalize Sam’s midlife crisis. Have the Conformity Monster cut Sam’s hair and Sam can’t coast any more. He’d have to actively decide who he wants to be. 

[#spn 14x15 Peace Of Mind](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-14x15-Peace-Of-Mind) [#I know the Hair has fans of its own](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/I-know-the-Hair-has-fans-of-its-own) [#who would be hurt and saddened](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/who-would-be-hurt-and-saddened) [#but this IS spn](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/but-this-IS-spn) [#anyone/anything can die](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/anyone%2Fanything-can-die) [#except](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/except) [#as it turns out](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/as-it-turns-out) [#the Hair](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/the-Hair) [#missed opportunity](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/missed-opportunity)


	4. April

[4/7/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/184015198586/frozen-delight-drsilverfish-frozen-delight)

It’s not just that it was wrong, it’s the complete pointlessness of the error. It would have been just as incomprehensible to the average watcher, and Sam would have looked just as smart, if the line had been read in the original Greek. 

btw, I got the ‘things are not what they seem’ bit from ‘you’re watching Supernatural.’ They’ve been fucking with us from day one. It’s just, once upon a time, ‘fucking with us’ was creating puzzles that were meant to make sense in retrospect. As of 12x03 (with Lucifer dutifully fulfilling a condition that was never part of Vince’s deal), they’ve been openly gaslighting us. 

I’m tired of putting more effort into making this show make sense than the writers do.

[#spn 14x17 Game Night](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-14x17-Game-Night) [#spn 12x03 The Foundry](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-12x03-The-Foundry) [#It's not the narrator that's unreliable](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/It%27s-not-the-narrator-that%27s-unreliable) [#but the writer](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/but-the-writer) [#I'm tired of acceding to Orwellian rewriting of memory](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/I%27m-tired-of-acceding-to-Orwellian-rewriting-of-memory) [#for the convenience of an authority too careless](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/for-the-convenience-of-an-authority-too-careless) [#too lazy](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/too-lazy) [#to keep the story consistent](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/to-keep-the-story-consistent) [#I don't want it in my entertainment](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/I-don%27t-want-it-in-my-entertainment) [#in this age it feels too much like real life](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/in-this-age-it-feels-too-much-like-real-life)

* * *

[4/19/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/184291005806/right-into-the-malak-box-our-heroes-coaxed-the)

Right into the Ma’lak Box  
Our heroes coaxed the evil  
Our heroes thought the deed was done  
Pop! goes the evil

[#spn 14x19 Jack in the Box](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-14x19-Jack-in-the-Box)

* * *

[4/25/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/184451185314/sam-fired-the-gun-they-went-to-black-and-i-was)

Sam fired the gun, they went to black, and I was all, “Ooh! excellent cliffhanger!”

And then they came back from commercial.

[#spn 14x20 Moriah](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-14x20-Moriah) [#seriously though](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/seriously-though) [#that would have been the way to end it](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/that-would-have-been-the-way-to-end-it)

* * *

[4/26/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/184464982963/frozen-delight-sams-serialkiller-fetish)

That part worked for me - Dean will do all kinds of hinky shit if it’s his own idea, but someone trying to blackmail him into following orders (to do exactly the same hinky shit) will just get Dean’s back up.

[#spn 14x20 Moriah](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-14x20-Moriah)


	5. October

[10/18/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/188423765626/bloody-harlan) **Bloody Harlan**

They say in Harlan County  
There is no neutral there  
You’ll either be a union man  
Or a thug for J.H. Blair  
– Florence Reece

Harlan County is in Kentucky. J.H. Blair was sheriff during the [Harlan County War](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FHarlan_County_War&t=YTQxOTFhYTA1N2MyZDNkNTk4ODgxYjBmMjdiZDgzOThmZDI1OGYyMyxwTmE3ZE1qSQ%3D%3D&b=t%3A0uBFBznWrCGtBXYYAWqPPA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwelkinalauda.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F188423765626%2Fbloody-harlan&m=1), in which the cops conspired with the mine owners to prevent miners from unionizing. The first strikes were in 1931 and 1932.

Union activity heated up there again in the 1970s, caught on film in [Harlan County, USA](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FHarlan_County%2C_USA&t=N2YzMjAyYzI5ZmRhOGRlY2Q4NjU5MTIyNzY5MjFlODU4ZWU4NGJjNyxwTmE3ZE1qSQ%3D%3D&b=t%3A0uBFBznWrCGtBXYYAWqPPA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwelkinalauda.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F188423765626%2Fbloody-harlan&m=1). (iirc, they caught a gunthug shooting a striker on film, but were unable to interest any legal authority in the footage.)

Present-day Harlan County is the setting for [Justified](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.imdb.com%2Ftitle%2Ftt1489428%2F&t=NDBlN2NhM2YzODA3OTM4ZWZiMGMxZjQ1YTJkZDJiZjYyNTI5MDNhZSxwTmE3ZE1qSQ%3D%3D&b=t%3A0uBFBznWrCGtBXYYAWqPPA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwelkinalauda.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F188423765626%2Fbloody-harlan&m=1). I suspect that show is what the writers were trying to invoke by naming the town Harlan? but I don’t rightly know because I’ve never seen an episode.

[#spn 15x02 Raising Hell](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-15x02-Raising-Hell) [#the name game](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/the-name-game) [#the other obvious reference for 'Harlan'](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/the-other-obvious-reference-for-%27Harlan%27) [#are the supreme court justices John Marshall Harlan](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/are-the-supreme-court-justices-John-Marshall-Harlan) [#the first was the Great Dissenter](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/the-first-was-the-Great-Dissenter) [#trying to stand against slavery and injustice and getting outvoted](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/trying-to-stand-against-slavery-and-injustice-and-getting-outvoted) [#the second was only as retrograde](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/the-second-was-only-as-retrograde) [#as he could find precedent to take cover in](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/as-he-could-find-precedent-to-take-cover-in) [#which is the sort of principle](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/which-is-the-sort-of-principle) [#that mostly looks good in contrast](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/that-mostly-looks-good-in-contrast) [#to the present array of activist 'conservatives'](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/to-the-present-array-of-activist-%27conservatives%27) [#Which is all very interesting](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/Which-is-all-very-interesting) [#but I don't think relevant to the episode](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/but-I-don%27t-think-relevant-to-the-episode)

* * *

[10/25/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/188588686730/my-first-impulse-was-to-write-an-episode-tag-in)

My first impulse was to write an episode tag in which Rowena, who’s absorbed the power of all those loosed souls, establishes herself as Queen of the Damned. Setting herself on the throne, cleaning house & tossing out what’s left of Michael and Adam, and… Then I realized I couldn’t remember where the writers last left Lucifer, or the current state of play on what happens to dead souls.

Wow, this show has really lost my attention.

Anyway - I know most all y’all are focused on other stuff, but my prime takeaway from last night was the question of Rowena’s intentions. At what point did she realize she had a shot at underworld domination? Did those failed spells just fail, or did she deliberately tank them? What spell did she really have Sam chanting? Why did she need specifically Sam to do the chanting?

I suppose it doesn’t matter that much. The story that will get told is that she was being perfectly truthful and transparent with TFW, sacrificed herself totally selflessly, and golly she didn’t even realize she would be massively powering herself up until she was already dead.

Rowena will be totally fabulous on the throne of Hell, and I look forward to her reign.

[#spn 15x03 The Rupture](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-15x03-The-Rupture) [#not looking forward to the writers](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/not-looking-forward-to-the-writers) [#installing Ketch as Rowena's boy toy](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/installing-Ketch-as-Rowena%27s-boy-toy) [#but odds on](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/but-odds-on)

* * *

[10/25/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/188598369654/justanotheridijiton-the-woman-dies-she-dies-to)

[#spn meta](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-meta)

[#pretty blond ladies in white nighties](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/pretty-blond-ladies-in-white-nighties)

[#evil skanks in black scoop tanks](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/evil-skanks-in-black-scoop-tanks)

[#adopted sisters in fighting costume](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/adopted-sisters-in-fighting-costume)

[#miscellaneous monsters and fallen reapers](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/miscellaneous-monsters-and-fallen-reapers)

[#a scarlet woman in rose pink satin](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/a-scarlet-woman-in-rose-pink-satin)

[#all dead of stab wounds to the womb](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/all-dead-of-stab-wounds-to-the-womb)

[#the woman dies](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/the-woman-dies)


	6. November

[11/7/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/188896567304/wtf-is-wrong-with-these-assholes) **wtf is wrong with these assholes**

Sure, Dean. _Of course _you’d kidnap an innocent to force feed to your murder monster fake-son. Any parent would!

[#spn 15x04 Atomic Monsters](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-15x04-Atomic-Monsters) [#all Winchesters are bad parents](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/all-Winchesters-are-bad-parents) [#I have more to say](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/I-have-more-to-say) [#but right now I'm mostly pissing myself off](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/but-right-now-I%27m-mostly-pissing-myself-off) [#to our erstwhile heroes I say](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/to-our-erstwhile-heroes-I-say) [#fuck all y'all](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/fuck-all-y%27all)

* * *

[11/9/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/188931093052/fierydeans-dean-the-meat-man-winchester-and)

He’s talking about the beaver, but he’s eating a hot dog.

[#spn 15x04 Atomic Monsters](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-15x04-Atomic-Monsters) [#and JA is the director on this one](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/and-JA-is-the-director-on-this-one) [#bullshit he doesn't know what the fans are talking about](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/bullshit-he-doesn%27t-know-what-the-fans-are-talking-about) [#when we ask about the subtext](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/when-we-ask-about-the-subtext)

* * *

[11/11/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/189009204405/not-sure-how-long-its-been-going-on-but-i)

Not sure how long it’s been going on, but I noticed toward the start of season 11 (mostly from _Baby _and_ Just My Imagination_) that Sam is often framed as a child in brother’s house. Sam doesn’t drive Baby; Dean does. Dean does the shopping and cooking, and Sam eats what’s put in front of him. Dean’s constantly adjusting his room for improved comfort and convenience, while Sam’s still sleeping on a bed that’s a foot too short for him. At one point in _Just my Imagination_, Dean sends Sam to his room. And I was like, ???

Something about the end of that red dream sequence, followed by Sam waking up in his too-small bed, joined up the dots for me: in Sam’s head, Sam growing up and making his own decisions is wrong-bad. Every time he tries, turns out he’s possessed, or he’s high, or being conned, or he’s trying to do the right thing and choosing wrong anyway. Everything he does and everything he tries never works out, and people end up dead.

Which explains why Sam doesn’t just buy his own veggie bacon. It’s why Sam hasn’t gotten himself a grown-up bed to fit his grown-up body. It’s why he doesn’t drive Baby any more. Baby is the family home, and Sam has demonstrated to his own satisfaction that he is not fit to take control of House Winchester. 

Sam stays a child in his brother’s house because the writers insist that Sam growing up and leaving home will be **the end of the world**.

[#spn 15x04 Atomic Monsters](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-15x04-Atomic-Monsters) [#spn 11x04 Baby](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-11x04-Baby) [#spn 11x08 Just My Imagination](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-11x08-Just-My-Imagination) [#Sam is a child in his brother's house](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/Sam-is-a-child-in-his-brother%27s-house)

* * *

[11/13/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/189034860670/the-cheerleader-vanishes) **The Cheerleader Vanishes**

Susie Martin, blonde Iowa cheerleader, also participated in drama club, debate team, and campus ministry. Or, storytelling, advocacy, and evangelism. Then she was horribly murdered, so the other Iowa cheerleaders (in red) are arranging a prayer service. Looking to communicate with God.

—

Here’s blonde Becky in a red floral top, waving off her husband and kids, looking forward to a little time alone, and hey, there’s God.

(Becky has a small field of corn in her front yard. It’s like a little bit of Iowa, just for her.)

_Below: He Who Walks Behind the Rows_

Chuck thought he’d come see Becky, his #1 fan

“So, you want me to… fluff you?”

## Becky is a cheerleader.

Or, she was. She used to run fansites and organize conventions and gaze worshipfully at Chuck. She was the biggest cheerleader, the most faithful believer Carver Edlund had. Now she’s writing her own stories, building her own 3-d versions of the spn verse, and selling them on Etsy. She stopped stanning for Chuck’s version and started making a world she liked better, with more fluff and less teeth.

—

“I’m a writer, too, Chuck.”  
“Fanfic, not really the same thing.”

Sounds a bit like, I don’t know, she’s saying cheerleading is a sport and he’s coming back that no, no, real sports are men’s things, and if there isn’t even the prospect of eventually getting paid then it’s not really _real_. Plus the point of cheerleading is to glorify the men on the field / the point of fanfic is to worship canon. If she tells him _writing fanfic is writing_ and cheerleading is competitive, involves a hell of a lot of athletic skill, and can be done without a background sporting event, and btw Becky’s found a way to get paid here - it won’t register with him. He won’t hear it. (I’m still working out this point? but I kinda want to drag in “The US Poet Laureate” episode of _The West Wing_, written after Aaron Sorkin visited Television Without Pity, reiterating his mistaken belief that TWoP existed to glorify _him_.)

—

Becky doesn’t need Chuck any more. She wants him to leave. But he claims to need her, so she lets him in, shares water, lets him manipulate her into giving him emotional support.

He tells her how terrible it is that he’s cut off from WinchesterCam and thus has no inspiration. And she’s like, ‘boo hoo, you can’t just transcribe any more. Making it up yourself is the better part of valor, this is faked-up procrastination drama, sack up and type, buckaroo.’

—

Blonde cheerleader Tori Taylor was on her way home, alone, talking about how Veronica [Gr: ‘true image’] crying over how part of her heart is gone is _sooo_ fake. 

and whoosh! she’s gone. 

She got caught alone and was dragged off by an older man who wanted to suck her dry.

—

Duly fluffed, Chuck elbows Becky aside, takes her desk and her computer over her protests, and types up some dreck. That dreck didn’t provoke her enough, so he writes some uglier dreck, which does provoke the hurt, angry reaction our sadistic deity was looking for. Chuck’s happy again.

(When she says “what you did to Dean, what you did to Sam,” I’m thinking it’s not Chuck inflicting something creative in the way of mental torture, but that he’s got the boys saying “Hail Hydra” and meaning it.)

—

Three blond cheerleaders. One killed and eaten. One rescued. One snapped off into the cornfield.

Becky’s not dead, she’s just… away. With her husband and kids. She can be brought back. (I expect Chuck _will_ bring her back, any time he’s run dry and needs more fluffing.) She can be saved.

## Save the cheerleader, save the world.

[#spn 15x04 Atomic Monsters](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-15x04-Atomic-Monsters) [#there are a LOT of references to other media in here](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/there-are-a-LOT-of-references-to-other-media-in-here) [#Steven King and Twilight Zone and Heathers and Heroes](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/Steven-King-and-Twilight-Zone-and-Heathers-and-Heroes) [#oh my way](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/oh-my-way)

* * *

[11/15/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/189081381104/girl-guide) **Girl Guide**

  


Her costume is a reasonable modern mock-up of what Girl Scouts and Girls Guides wore a hundred years ago.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_oldest_Scout_groups](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FList_of_the_oldest_Scout_groups&t=N2UyYTg4MTU5MzdiMWJiNWQ5NDg5ODZlODAyYWZlMjQ4MmVmMzdkMCxnRjlWVUNHbg%3D%3D&b=t%3A0uBFBznWrCGtBXYYAWqPPA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwelkinalauda.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F189081381104%2Fgirl-guide&m=1)

And guide she does! First she’s leading Dean up Chuck’s garden path. Then, after the antler impalement, she shows him the truth.

About the scenery:

  * Castiel’s carpet in front of the fire.
  * Red walls. After the red dream and all the red at Beaverdale High last week, I think we’re safe in saying where there is red, there is Chuck. Same with the heart motif.
  * The red is also a call back to _The Monster at the End of This Book_
    * in which Chuck faked Dean into dropping Sam at the Red Motel, where Chuck gave Sam explicit instructions about Lilith and _fiery demonic passion_
    * this time, Lilith does the faking, to get Dean to the red cabin in the woods, and again Chuck meant it to end with a bang
  * ANTLERS SO MANY ANTLERS
    * not just here, but
      * behind the sheriff back at the station
      * the wallpaper in the motel room
      * the horns have been a recurring motif in the scenery since season 1

But seriously, what is up with the antlers? Does anyone have a good theory on the meaning of antlers in the SPN visual lexicon?

[#spn 15x05 Proverbs 17:3](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-15x05-Proverbs-17%3A3) [#spn 15x04 Atomic Monsters](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-15x04-Atomic-Monsters) [#spn 4x18 The Monster at the End of This Book](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-4x18-The-Monster-at-the-End-of-This-Book) [#lampshading](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/lampshading) [#antlers antlers everywhere](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/antlers-antlers-everywhere) [#Castiel's carpet](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/Castiel%27s-carpet)

[ ](https://tmblr.co/mH08bFF21ewTCayiwIXZEOg) [ mittensmorgul ](https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/189081834600)

  


When Dean got slammed to the wall beneath a set of antlers, in an episode where it was supposedly a wildcat doing the killings, this was my first thought.

[ ](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/) [ welkinalauda ](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/189122938451/girl-guide)

[drsilverfish](https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/189089257479/hearts-harts-lions-and-bears-in-15x05-proverbs) was talking about harts as deer and their symbolism as quarry of the hunt, and also harts as a pun on hearts.

Mel reminded me of Rowena’s antlers, from the dream where Crowley is a kid on Christmas morning. The ones that don’t come off.

In isolation, Rowena’s antlers work as a signifier for _storge_, familial love. 

Rowena told Crowley, “I hate you, because when you were born, your father said he loved me, then he went back to his grand wife and his grand house, whilst I lay pathetic and half dead on a straw mat – my thighs slick with blood. I hate you, because if I didn’t, I’d love you. But love, love is weakness. And I’ll never be weak again.“ 

But the antlers don’t come off. She spent centuries pursuing selfish wickedness, but when her son died his final death, she was bereft. She loved him. When he was really gone, she mourned him, and she wanted him back enough to provoke Death to a personal interview.

I don’t think I can make the _storge_ idea stretch to cover the present episode, though. It wasn’t brotherly love that tripped Lilith up in the ‘seduce Dean and whisper in his ear plan.’ It was Dean growing up and getting bored with banging the victim of the week. 

Maturity, maybe? Adult responsibility? Something like that.

[#spn 15x05 Proverbs 17:3](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-15x05-Proverbs-17%3A3) [#spn 11x10 The Devil in the Details](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-11x10-The-Devil-in-the-Details) [#spn 13x19 Funeralia](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-13x19-Funeralia) [#antlers antlers everywhere](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/antlers-antlers-everywhere) [#the big red nose of lousy parenting](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/the-big-red-nose-of-lousy-parenting) [#half baked meta](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/half-baked-meta)

* * *

[11/16/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/189099294486/the-cat-in-the-hat) **The Cat in the Hat**

  


The cougar’s got a hat, the woman with the sheriff mug doesn’t.

[#spn 15x05 Proverbs 17:3](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-15x05-Proverbs-17%3A3) [#antlers antlers everywhere](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/antlers-antlers-everywhere) [#it's visual pun day](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/it%27s-visual-pun-day) [#I finally figured out how to use the screenshot function on this computer](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/I-finally-figured-out-how-to-use-the-screenshot-function-on-this-computer) [#and all y'all get the benefit](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/and-all-y%27all-get-the-benefit) [#w00t!](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/w00t%21)

* * *

[11/25/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/189289653698/lauraannegilman-mittensmorgul-ltleflrt) [So what we’re saying here is that Chuck isn’t a novelist, he’s a game writer? This would certainly explain a lot.]

Like all the sandboxes and railroad imagery.

[#spn meta](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-meta) [#Chuck wants his railroad to run on time](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/Chuck-wants-his-railroad-to-run-on-time) [#he's baffled how no one wants to get on board](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/he%27s-baffled-how-no-one-wants-to-get-on-board) [#won't stay on track](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/won%27t-stay-on-track) [#Meanwhile](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/Meanwhile) [#even the long obedient angels](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/even-the-long-obedient-angels) [#escape Heaven via magic sandboxes](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/escape-Heaven-via-magic-sandboxes)

* * *

[11/30/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/189398170734/samulet-anon-again-i-do-feel-like-chuck-admitting)

I’ve never understood how Ruby convinced Sam to take the first sip of blood. Once she got him hooked on the rush, sure. But before that? Sam’s a learned man, and would know of the biblical injunction against drinking blood, as well as the symbolism of communion. He’s a modern man, and would understand the dangers of blood as a vector for infection. He’s a savvy man, who knew full well he was dealing with a lying manipulating demon straight from hell and would be accordingly wary. And yet she managed to talk him into taking a taste. I could never figure out how.

Turns out God himself couldn’t figure out how to write that scene.

Chuck didn’t leave it out because it made Sam look unsympathetic. He left it out because he couldn’t maneuver Sam and Ruby into a situation where Sam would make the choice to drink demon blood on his own. So he author-fiats Sam into a blood addiction offstage, and then Chuck gets the fun of transcribing the fallout without having to do the hard parts.

[#spn 4x18 The Monster at the End of This Book](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-4x18-The-Monster-at-the-End-of-This-Book) [#God Was Never on Your Side](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/God-Was-Never-on-Your-Side)

* * *

[11/30/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/189401683189/littlehobbit13-just-reading-books-here-in-the) [Rowena & Gabriel _Laying Pipe_ gifset]

[#from the vault](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/from-the-vault) [#spn 13x21 Beat the Devil](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-13x21-Beat-the-Devil) [#I want these two to end up together](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/I-want-these-two-to-end-up-together) [#in a permanent on again off again thing](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/in-a-permanent-on-again-off-again-thing) [#She's Queen of the Damned](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/She%27s-Queen-of-the-Damned) [#He's an itinerant jester](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/He%27s-an-itinerant-jester) [#at loose ends since God died](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/at-loose-ends-since-God-died) [#and took Gabriel's purpose with him](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/and-took-Gabriel%27s-purpose-with-him) [#They fuck with each other](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/They-fuck-with-each-other) [#spn endgame](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-endgame) [#it'll be heartwarming](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/it%27ll-be-heartwarming)


	7. December

[12/7/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/189529562749/i-kill-monsters) **I kill monsters**

  


They run out of lead, and so come out of cover to shoot words at each other. Lee’s trying to talk his way out by identifying with Dean. Lee gets about as far with that as Ketch did. Because at his core, Dean is not a barkeep or a rock star. Those might be fun to dream of, might even be fun to try on for a while. But those are not who he is. (Dean might even have kept a monster or two chained up in his dungeon from time to time, but he didn’t feed them kidnapped innocents ferchrissake.)

Lee’s bullshitting provokes Dean into a clear statement of philosophy: if it’s fucked up, fix it. Also a clear statement of identity: Dean kills monsters. 

It does not matter that Lee is human, or that Dean and Lee were friends once. Lee has made himself a monster. Dean kills monsters. There is only one way this ends.

The whole time they’re bandying words, Dean is backed up by a neon lucky star over a phone. A line to the good angel, as it were.

[#spn 15x07 Last Call](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-15x07-Last-Call) [#angels in the architecture](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/angels-in-the-architecture)

* * *

[12/7/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/189534199997/honey-pot) **Honey Pot**

  


Angela is the fly   
(Angels and stars fly up so high in the sky)   
Drawn to the sugar of the bees   
Caught by a Webb   
Fed to the spider from the black lagoon 

(What did Lee say he called it? Mary? Merritt?) 

Sally is the one who got away.

[#spn 15x07 Last Call](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-15x07-Last-Call) [#it's practically poetry](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/it%27s-practically-poetry) [#angels in the architecture](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/angels-in-the-architecture)

* * *

[12/7/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/189534694306/cold-open-couple-parallel) **Cold open couple parallel**

  


Angela is wearing Castiel’s colors, and is literally named Angela. 

Sally is super-tall, wearing a pastel version of Sam’s bacon shirt, has substance abuse issues, and is named for Sal Paradise from _On the Road_.

“What would I do without my best friend?” Sally bellows.  
[”Crash and burn,” Jess whispers.]

Sally turns her back and Angela vanishes. Sally thinks Angela’s off in heaven, but instead she’s stuck with a bloodsucking wish-granter. Which mirrors how Sam and Castiel have been relating lately: Cas went *poof* and Sam was missing him; Castiel was gone fishing, until he got stuck dealing with that djinn.

[#spn 15x07 Last Call](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-15x07-Last-Call) [#the name game](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/the-name-game) [#more wing pareidolia](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/more-wing-pareidolia) [#and a lamp halo](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/and-a-lamp-halo)

* * *

[12/7/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/189540682099/the-monster-killer-at-the-end-of-this-book) **the monster-killer at the end of this book**

The internet was trying to divert him with unchanged weather and changed carpet at the old folks’ home. Sam and Eileen tried to get him to stay for breakfast or at least wait for them to come along. The sheriff tried to point Dean out of town. Lee tried to tell him there’s no case, interrupted when Dean was talking to witnesses, pointed at the lake instead of the salvage yard to search for the missing car.

The internet’s the internet. Sam and Eileen were just being themselves. Lee was acting like a self-interested rational monster. 

The sheriff made the pattern conspicuous, with his unsolicited and unprofessional remarks about how Dean ought to drop the case and head off to Hollywood. Pretty sure Chuck sent him.

But Dean is Dean, so he stayed the course despite all the diversionary tactics. That confrontation with his ol’ buddy gave him reason to say out loud: No, he doesn’t ‘deserve’ peace bought with the blood of innocents. Yes, it is his job to fix the world. He is Dean frickin’ Winchester, and he kills monsters.

He kills gods, too.

[#spn 15x07 Last Call](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-15x07-Last-Call)

* * *

[12/12/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/189629229985/denugis-not-to-wade-equivocally-into)

[#^this](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/%5Ethis) [#Adam's Present Location](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/Adam%27s-Present-Location) [#of course Dean chose Sam over Adam](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/of-course-Dean-chose-Sam-over-Adam) [#that's not the problem](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/that%27s-not-the-problem) [#The problem is that when challenged to rescue an innocent from hell](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/The-problem-is-that-when-challenged-to-rescue-an-innocent-from-hell) [#Adam's name never came up in the brainstorming session](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/Adam%27s-name-never-came-up-in-the-brainstorming-session) [#I get that this is a tv show](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/I-get-that-this-is-a-tv-show) [#but there's no actual requirement that it be a sloppily written tv show](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/but-there%27s-no-actual-requirement-that-it-be-a-sloppily-written-tv-show)

* * *

[12/17/19](https://welkinalauda.tumblr.com/post/189724233099/chuckwinchester-amara-it-seems-is-staying-in)

Vegas showdown - our heroes take flight across the desert - we’re all set up for the Thelma & Louise ending - Surprise! Baby can fly. It’s the Grease ending. Sam and Eileen are making out by the Ferris wheel because she _is_ pregnant. Everyone who’s ever been anywhere near spn is there for one last dance-off. We’ll always be together. Always. There is no escape.

[#spn endgame](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-endgame)


End file.
